It’s (almost) all change for TT’s G.O.A.T. in 2025…

The greatest TT rider of all time has announced which bikes he will be riding at the 2025 races. Once again it will be a very hands on affair for Michael Dunlop and his MD Racing team, although this time it’ll be an all-European line up of machinery.

While most top riders like to have a top team running their bikes, maverick Michael has usually been much more involved with the spanners himself, choosing the best tools and support crews for the job, rather than committing to a single manufacturer supported team where he has to ride the bikes he’s given.

Several times he’s made a late switch of equipment during practice week, most dramatically in 2015 when he dumped a high profile Milwaukee Yamaha deal to go back to a BMW and, more recently when he abandoned his newly built Triumph for his trusty Yamaha R6 for last year’s supersport races.

This year he’s slated to ride BMW M 1000 RRs in the big bike races, Ducatis in supersport and his usual Paton in the supertwins – a big change for the 29-time TT winner, who’ll have to adapt to new equipment for six of his eight races.

Having raced Hondas in collaboration with Hawk Racing for the past few years, he moves back to BMW – the bike which won all the 1000cc races at last year’s TT. Mickey D is no stranger to the German machinery, having won six TTs on the previous generation S 1000 RR between 2014 and 2016. He’ll continue working with long time partners Hawk Racing, who’ll run the bike at the TT, as they did with his Honda Fireblades for the past few years. 

The 36-year-old will be riding a Ducati Panigale V2 in the two Monster Energy Supersport TTs. The 955cc Panigale V2 was allowed into the TT’s middleweight class for the first time last year, reflecting world supersport rules, and although Dunlop won both races on his 600cc Yamaha R6,

Davey Todd debuted the booming Ducati with some success. Michael has spent a lot of time testing the Ducati in Spain over the winter and even finished ninth in the Daytona 200 on one back in March. Ironically his TT bike is backed by power tool company Milwaukee, whose sponsored Yamaha he famously spurned a decade ago. It has been built by Feel Racing, the Italian company which runs Ducati’s world championship winning superbike and supersport teams.

Indeed it’s the bike which won the 2024 Supersport World Championship in the hands of Spanish rider Adrian Huertas, and this factory support shows how serious the effort is.

“I’m delighted to be involved with Milwaukee again,” Michael said. “It’s been a long time but something I am very excited about and looking forward to a strong season on board the Milwaukee Ducati V2. They have given me a great opportunity to have a strong season and it’s a new challenge I’m eagerly awaiting.

“To be involved with the Feel Racing team is a fantastic opportunity to have their backing, knowledge and support for the season ahead. They have two world championships under their belt and provide a world of information to ensure we progress and get the results we deserve.”

There’s support from another Italian factory in the supertwins, albeit one with plenty of continuity, as he remains with his trusted Paton for the Metzeler and Entire Cover insurance Supertwin TTs. Dunlop has represented Paton since 2018, when he won that year’s Lightweight TT. In total he’s won five TTs on the retro-styled Kawasaki-engined twin – missing out on a clean sweep only when it broke down while leading races in 2022 and 2023.

In true Dunlop fashion, modest Michael hasn’t made any official announcement regarding his choice of superbike machinery for 2025, simply rocking up at the North West 200 with his new equipment and making a three word post ‘MD Racing stable’ on social media.

He’s admitted throughout winter that it’s been a challenge putting his 2025 programme together but was able to win the recent Cookstown 100 races on his new machines - although we would never be surprised if he made another late switch before the start of the TT! 

It’s been a year of uncertainty and last minute changes for many top riders ahead of this year’s TT. Having announced a powerhouse duo in Peter Hickman and Todd back in November the FHO Racing team later withdrew from racing, leading to the riders setting up their own team, 8TEN Racing, to run manufacturer supported BMWs in the big bike class.

WTF Racing also pulled out in April, leaving seeded riders James Hillier and Dominic Herbertson without a ride. Herbertson has since announced he will run the WTF prepared Honda in his own team, while Hiller has reunited with Bournemouth Kawasaki to put together a Kawasaki ZX-6R for the supersport races.

Practice for the 2025 Isle of Man TT Races starts on Monday 26 May, with race week scheduled to run from Saturday 31 May. We’ll be covering the event through the Entire Cover channels, so sign up to our social media channels and pop back to our website for all the latest comings and goings from the island.